Ages of Muhammads Wives at Marriage: Difference between revisions

==Introduction==

{{Quote|[http://www.islam4women.org/conclusions/ Islam for Women]|But all his wives were elderly ladies or widows except [Aisha and Mariyah]. If the aim had been seeking sexual pleasures, he would have done so in his youth and would have married young maidens, not aged widows.}}

===Khadijah's Age===

{{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:11; {{Tabari|39|p. 41}}.|Hakim ibn Hizam said, “The Messenger of Allah married Khadijah when she was 40 and the Messenger of Allah was 25. Khadijah was two years older than me. She was born 15 years before the Elephant and I was born 13 years before the Elephant.”}}

The second problem with Khadijah’s age is that there is a strong alternative tradition, one that originates from no less a person than Abdullah ibn Abbas. Ibn Abbas was the cousin who lived at Muhammad’s side through the final years in Medina.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 95}}.</ref> He was a great source of ''ahadith'' and his word would normally be accepted without question.<ref>See {{Tabari|39|pp. 54-57, 95}} for brief accolades. For a modern assessment of his contribution, see Siddiqi, M. Z. (2006). ''Hadith Literature: its origin, development, special features and criticism'', pp. 33-34. Kuala Lumpar: Islamic Book Trust.</ref> What is more, his mother was a close friend of Khadijah’s.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 201}}; Bewley/Saad 8:193.</ref> The only reason why Abdullah has been largely ignored on the subject of Khadijah is that he never knew her personally while Hakim ibn Hizam did.<ref>{{Tabari|39|55}}; Bewley/Saad 8:12; {{Tabari|39|p. 161}}.</ref> Abdullah ibn Abbas says:

This tradition was strong enough to be accepted by Ibn Ishaq. It was not included in the recension of Ibn Hisham (who was not interested in the ages of women) or used as a source by Ibn Saad or Tabari (who followed Hakim ibn Hizam's tradition, presumably for the reasons given above). But it was included by Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, who lived about a hundred years after Tabari.<ref>[http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-hakim-al-naysaburi-SIM_2638/ Robson, J. (2013). "Al-Ḥakim al-Naysaburi" in Bearman, P., Bianquis, T., Bosworth, C. E., van Donzel, E., & Heinrichs, W. P. (1960). ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd Ed.'' Leiden: Brill.]</ref> Although he was not an “early” historian, he was apparently still early enough to have direct access to the work of Ibn Ishaq.

If Khadijah was 28 at that time, she was born in the year between March 568 and March 569, some dozen years later than Hakim ibn Hizam claimed. Her age in solar years could have been anywhere between 26 years 4 months and 27 years 4 months. All we can do is take the median and accept it as an approximation.

Far from being a “much older” woman, it appears that Khadijah was the only one of Muhammad’s wives who might fairly be deemed the same age as himself.

When Muhammad married Sawdah in May 620, he was 49. It is possible that Sawdah was also about that age<ref>[http://www.themodernreligion.com/prophet/prophet_aisha.htm/ Ahmed, S. “Prophet Muhammad and Aisha Siddiqa.”]</ref> and that she lived to be over 100. But it is unlikely. Allowing that she was not yet menopausal and that she had a father living, she was probably closer to 40.

The age difference between Muhammad and Sawdah was not inappropriate for a middle-aged couple; but she was almost certainly the younger spouse. And we will state here that Sawdah was the oldest bride whom Muhammad ever married.

Her marriage was consummated in the tenth month of the first year AH. This fell between 11 April and 9 May (median = 25 April 623). We can now take an informed estimate of her age at consummation.

The exact age or age difference down to the day or even to the year do not matter. The real points are that (1) Aisha was a prepubescent child, and (2) Muhammad was old enough to be her grandfather.

Shabaan 3 AH fell between 20 January and 17 February 625 (median = 3 February).

It does not really matter whether Hafsah was 19 or 17. The important points are that (1) she was biologically a woman and not a child, but (2) she was a ''young'' woman, while Muhammad was biologically old enough to be her grandfather.

However, there is no need for this kind of guessing, for her age is in fact recorded.

{{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:82.|[Muhammad] married [Zaynab] in Ramadan at the beginning of the 31st month of the Hijra. She remained with him for eight months and then died at the end of Rabi al-Akhir at the beginning of the 39th month.}}

Zaynab was therefore married on or soon after 18 February 625. She died on or just before 11 October 625. If she was “about 30” in 4 AH, she was born in October 596, plus or minus a few years.

Zaynab married five times.<ref>Ibn Hisham note 918; Bewley/Saad 8:82; {{Tabari|9|p. 138}}; {{Tabari|39|pp. 163-614}}.</ref> Her fifth choice, it seems, fell on a high-status and already-married man old enough to be her father.

{{Quote| Bewley/Saad 8:61.|She died in Dhu’l-Qada 59 AH [17 August - 15 September 679].}}

Eighty-four years before 59 AH brings us to the year between 26 April 597 and 15 April 598 and a median birthdate of 20 October 597.

{{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:61.|The Messenger of Allah married her at the end of the month of Shawwal 4 AH [on or before 6 April 626].}}

It is very plausible that Hind was 28 when she married Muhammad, for her fourth child was then a newborn<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:63-66.</ref> while her eldest daughter was about ten years of age.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 147.</ref>

===Zaynab bint Jahsh's Age===

{{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:80.|I saw Umar ibn Al-Khattab pray over Zaynab bint Jahsh in 20 AH [641 CE] on a summer day, and I saw a cloth stretched over her grave.}}

Thirty-five years before 5 AH brings us to a birth-year of 31 BH (20 June 592 - 8 June 593), a discrepancy of three years. Probably Umar ibn Uthman was giving a round number when he said she was married at 35; to be conservative, we will assume the earlier birthdate. However, we must bear in mind that Zaynab might have been some three years younger than this.

Therefore we have to discard modern commentaries claiming that Zaynab was “in late middle age.”<ref>[http://www.ispi-usa.org/muhammad/appendix2.html/ Akhter, J. (2001). “The Prophet's Marriages and Wives”] in ''The Seven Phases of Prophet Muhammad's Life''. Chicago: ISPI.</ref> While her contemporary community might not have considered her “a young woman,” this is relative. She was still young enough to have been Muhammad’s daughter.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, we shall take a two-year range for Juwayriyah’s birthdate, between 9 January 607 and 17 December 608. The median is 28 December 607. She was married in Shabaan 6 AH, a median date of 2 January 628.

So another one of Muhammad's wives, Juwayriyah, was young enough to be his granddaughter.

[[Safiyah]] gives us unusual precision, for it appears that she knew her age to the month.

She married Muhammad at the time when Khaybar fell. The exact date of this victory is not recorded, but the general period of the siege is clear.

The Muslims therefore began the march to Khaybar in late May or early June 628 and were back in Medina before the end of July. So Muhammad married Safiyah early in Rabi-Awwal 7 AH (mid-July 628). Safiyah apparently knew that she had been born in Rabi-Awwal 17 years earlier, though she did not know whether it had been late or early in the month and therefore did not know whether she had reached 17 full years on the particular night when she married Muhammad. The Rabi-Awwal of 17 years earlier fell between 14 January and 12 February 612, giving Safiyah a birthdate of 28 January 612, plus or minus a fortnight.

Safiyah was yet another bride who was young enough to be Muhammad’s granddaughter.

30 BH fell between 9 June 593 and 28 May 594, giving Ramlah a median birthdate of 2 December 593. Her marriage to Muhammad was consummated upon his return from Khaybar in July 628.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 526, 529-530.</ref>

Ramlah was young enough to be Muhammad’s daughter.

While we do not really know Maymunah’s death-date, and therefore her birth-date, we will accept Ibn Kathir’s more conservative tradition. According to this, she was born in 30 BH, i.e., between 9 June 593 and 28 May 594 (median = 2 December 593). This would make her about 35 when she married Muhammad in February 629, although we will bear in mind that she might have been many years younger.

Sir William Muir’s unsourced comment that “Maymunah is said to have been at this time 51 years of age”<ref>[http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life4/chap22.htm/ Muir, W. (1861). ''The Life of Mahomet'' vol. 4 p. 89. London: Smith, Elder & Co.]</ref> is thus wide of the mark.

Mulaykah’s exact age is not given, but there is a clue in this statement.

If they expected Mohammed to believe that “she is too young to think for herself,” they were suggesting that she was barely an adult – someone whose body had so recently reached puberty that her mind had not yet caught up.

The year 8 AH did not end until 22 April 630. But in fact Muhammad must have married Mulaykah earlier than this. Her tribe lived near Mecca; they had resisted him at Mecca on 14 January; and Muhammad left Mecca on 28 January to fight the Hawazinites and Thaqifites.<ref>{{Tabari|9|pp. 2-3}}.</ref> It is practically certain that he married Mulaykah during his fortnight of residence in the city, i.e. in the second half of January 630.

While this is only a guess, we were also only guessing about Sawdah. By the time Muhammad married Mulaykah, Aisha had become 16. Although Mulaykah was an older bride, she was almost certainly younger in years than Aisha.

At the same time, Abdullah ibn Abbas suggests Asma’s upper age-limit.

This kind of accolade would be absurd for a woman who was older than 20. The sources do not describe Hafsah, Juwayriyah or Safiyah as “youthful,” and Asma’s naiveté certainly suggests youth.

In conclusion, Asma was probably in her late teens; but we do not really know. To be conservative, we will say that she was 20.

Asma was once again young enough to be Muhammad’s granddaughter.

===Amrah's Age===

Again, this is a guess, but it is an estimate based on real data about Amrah’s life. We can make no such guesses about the remaining women in Muhammad’s life.

#Juwayriyah’s Median Age = 20 years and 0 months.

#Safiyah’s Age = 16 years and 6 months.

#Maymunah’s Median Age = 35 years and 2 months.

#Mulaykah’s Approximate Age = 13 years.

#Asma’s Maximum Age = 20 years.

The mean age of Muhammad’s brides was about ''24½ years''. Even by the historical Arabian standards, a woman of 24 was not quite “middle-aged”.

#Asma = 59 years and 3 months (not consummated, but legalities finalised).

#Amrah = 60 years and 5 months (not consummated, but legalities finalised).

Muhammad’s mean age at marriage was ''53 years and 8 months''. The mean age difference between Muhammad and all his wives was over ''29 years''.

The widows whom Prophet Muhammad married after Khadijah’s death do indeed fall into two distinct age-groups. But to label these two groups as “the middle-aged” and “the elderly” gives atypical definitions to these terms. The “elderly” group would refer to those brides between 28 and 40 while the “middle-aged” group would mean the teenagers.  

==See Also==

[[Category:Muhammad]]

[[Category:Islam and Women]]

{{page_title|Ages of Muhammad's Wives at Marriage}}